THE PAINS OF A LONELY HEART
Episode 28
O.D Oluwasegun
“I’m your mother, my son” she said.
Ben looked surprised as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What did you say? Am sure you are in the wrong house ” Ben asked. “I know where I am. I brou-ght you here” She said.
This was getting weird for Ben. He looked more confused and offered her a seat.
As she sat, Ben asked her,” Madam, how do you mean you are my mother? Am sure you know who my family is? Ben asked.
“My son, I can explain only if you give me the chance to” She asked. ” Ermm can you hold on, let my sister join us, perhaps she can un-derstand you more than myself” Ben said and without waiting for her responds, called Juliet out.
Juliet, who was alre-ady upset with him c@m£ still looking angry. ” I beg of you, can you plea-se join us” Ben asked. Without answering him, she greeted the woman and sat down.
“Thank you” Ben said thanking Juliet.
“Madam, you can now explain yourself ” Ben told her. ” I personally raised you up until you were a year old. Your father died when you were eight months old and after, things bec@m£ very difficult for me. I couldn’t pl@ythe role of a mother. I ba-rely had enough food to eat not to talk of feeding you……” She said but interrupted her
“Hold on there, you said my father died when I was eight months old? Ben asked.
“Yes, my son” She answered.
“Meaning you’re claiming that the late Mr. Johnson is not my father? Ben asked.
“Yes my son. Your biological father died of cancer” She said.
Juliet was completely lost by what was going on. She didn’t un-derstand anything but she could tell from the demeanor of the woman that she was being truthful and sincere.
” What is she talking about, Who is this Ben? Juliet asked looking more concerned now.
“That’s exactly what I want to find out. She says she is my mother Juliet. ” Ben said
“What? Juliet said with shock.
“Let’s hear you madam” Ben said then she continued with her explanation. My only option was to leave you in the care of someone worthy. That was when I saw Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.
They agreed to take care of you as their own, on the condition that I kept this adoption a secret. They s£nt you away to the state until I heard you had returned upon the death of your foster father.
Ben, you are my only son, I couldn’t abandon you just like that, I had to think of something. This was my only choice my son. Your name is Ben Austin and I am your mother.” She revealed.
“St©p it, st©p it, I can’t take it anymore” Ben shouted. He left her and Juliet and ran into his room.
It was too much for him to ba-re. He couldn’t handle it. He was just confused as to whether she is telling the truth or not. Juliet went into Ben’s room and found him sitting on his be-d.
She joined him and took his hand. She ru-bbe-d her thumbs on his hand. This made him feel more relaxed .
“Ben, I think you should take it easy now. Don’t draw any conclusions yet. Its amazing that I also went throu-gh the same thing ” Juliet said.
“What are you talking about, Juliet?” Ben asked.
Juliet brushed him off and said ” I think there is only one way to find out if she is telling the truth”
“How? How can we tell, by doing a DNA test I guess? Ben asked
” Nope, I think we should keep her here till Mrs. Johnson comes, then we can confront them both.” Juliet suggested.
Ben felt comfortable as long as he remained beside Juliet. Even with this situation and the news that he had heard today, he still felt guilty for what he had done to Juliet.
Juliet however harbored what she had saw at dawn thus Jax coming from his room.
“Juliet, there is something, I nee-d to tell you” Ben said.
” I alre-ady know Ben” Juliet said. ” You do? Ben asked
“Yeah, I know you’re going out with Jax, I saw her coming out of your room this dawn” Juliet said.
“Oh that, Juliet is not what you think” Ben said.
” This is not the time for this, lets go back and keep the lady waiting until Mum returns” Juliet said and left Ben’s room to the living room. Ben had no option than to also follow.
Mrs. Johnson went to Jax’s house after trying severally to get in t©uçh with her but to no avail. Fortunately, She met Jax at her ap@rtment.
It was obvious that Jax didn’t want to see her. She didn’t give Mrs. Johnson a smiling face, however Mrs. Johnson was able to persuade her into getting into her car so they could talk.
“Jax, why this attitude? You left my house without telling me, your phone have been off all this while. What is wrong with you? If this, is about your money then take it” She said taking a bundle of 50GH¢.
To her surprise, Jax refused it.
“Mrs. Johnson, what do you even hope to achieve from this. I have done a lot and I can’t keep up with this anymore. Excuse me, I don’t want your money” Jax said.
“You must be joking right? This is a prank” Mrs. Johnson said.
“You think so? don’t ever contact me anymore, I’m done” Jax said and got down from the car ban-ging the door right at Mrs. Johnson’s face.
She didn’t believe what just happened. It was like a dream to her.
” She must be upset about something, I know she will be back. ” Mrs. Johnson said to herself.
Mrs. Johnson went straight to the police station. She was not allowed to see her son James with a reason best known to the authorities.
She couldn’t bear it. She had to create a scene at the station for not allowing her to see her son. The only thing that restrained her from creating any more problems was the fact that she was threatened to st©p her actions or will be arrested.
There was nothing more she could do. For the first time you could tell how frustrated Mrs. Johnson was.
She had no option than to go back home. Her day just went bad. Jax rejecting her and now the police disallowing her to see her son.
In no time she got back home. As soon as she opened the door leading to the living room, she was shocked upon seeing Ben, Juliet and the lady who claims that she is the biological mother of Ben
Episode 29
O.D Oluwasegun
“What are you doing here woman? Mrs. Johnson who was in a state of shock and frustration asked the lady.
“Looks like you alre-ady know each other. Makes things a lot easier.” Ben said. He was very mad at Mrs. Johnson for hiding the truth from him all these years. He actually was beginning to feel strong res£ntment towards her.
“Ben, whatever she told you is a lie,” Mrs. Johnson said.
“It’s a lie? How do you know she alre-ady told me something, unless of course, there’s something you’re hiding from me? Perhaps you’re not really my mother?” Ben asked.
Mrs. Johnson realized that she had alre-ady dug a pit for herself and that she couldn’t hide anything anymore.
“Look, before you begin yelling at me, you owe me plenty gratitude. She may be your mother but I raised you. I deserve appreciation rather than you talking to me like this” Mrs. Johnson said with indignation.
“You really don’t know how it feels, do you? Of course, I am grateful to you for being there for me but the fact that I have lived a lie all these years is what I can’t deal with” Ben said.
Mrs. Johnson heard the rage in his voice and she lost her cool.
“Yes, she is your mother! Are you OK now?!” Mrs. Johnson yelled and walked out on them.
Juliet c@m£ behind Ben and held his shoulder, giving him a gentle mas-sage.
“It’s alright Ben, it’s alright” Juliet said.
Ben’s mother immediately went on her knees. All throu-gh the confrontation with Mrs. Johnson, she had remained quiet. Now, she begged for forgiveness from Ben.
He helped her up, looked into her eyes for a long time and without saying anything, embr@ced her.
It was an emotional moment… Both of them held on ti-ghtly as they held each other and cried. After a while, Ben loos£ned his grip and said to her “Mum, let’s go to my room, we nee-d to talk more.”
Turning to Juliet, he said, “You should join us…”
“No, you and your mother nee-d this time alone. Plenty of catching up to do. I will be there when you nee-d me” Juliet said.
Ben nodded and thanked her. He then took his newly-discovered biological mother by the hand and led her to his room.
”Meanwhile The church board was meeting at this time. Elder John, the church’s financial secretary, was giving an account of the Church’s finances for the last six months.
After he had gone throu-gh the report, it was clear to everyone that the Church’s money was being embezzled. Almost all withdrawals were made by Mrs. Johnson without any requisite receipt.
The board decided to summon her for an immediate meeting.
Ben, on the other hand, was getting along with his mother in his room. He was beginning to un-derstand her and the choices she made those many years ago. She just didn’t have the money or means to take care of him.
Ben even got the opportunity to see his biological father’s picture which his mother had brou-ght along. Indeed, he looked very much like his father.
They got interrupted when Ben’s phone rang. The call was from an unknown number.
“Meet me at ‘Eddys’ in 45 minutes” the caller said and hung up.
Ben had no idea who it was but he was curious enough to go find out.
“Mum, would you like to spend the night here? Ben asked
“No, I won’t be safe here” She said.
“Oh, why not? Ben asked. “No one is capable of harming you”
“You really don’t know my son. I will go and come back tomorrow so we can talk more” She said.
“Let’s go together then, I’m also on my way out.” Ben said and they both left.
He dropped her off at her house. The house looked old and dil@pid@t£d. His mother apparently still lived in poverty.
Ben vowed to change that. Henceforth, he was going to take care of her as a son should.
After dropping her off, he went straight to Eddy’s and to his surprise, there was Jax sitting alone at a table for two.
She beckoned to him soon as he stepped in. She was the one who had called.
Walking towards her, Ben noticed that Jax looked disturbe-d and worried. Ben wondered what she really wanted to tell him.
He went and sat beside her. Without wasting any time, Jax began talking. She didn’t even bother welcoming him.
“Ben, My name is Jax Desmond, a professional nurse and I am responsible for the death of your father” she said.
Episode 30
O.D Oluwasegun
“Ben, My name is Jax Desmond, a professional nurse and I am responsible for the death of your father” she said.
“What are you talking about Jax? Ben asked, looking confused.
“Ben, plea-se don’t make this ha-rder than it alre-ady is. Let me finish talking. I promise you will un-derstand everything when I’m done” Jax said.
Ben agreed to stay quiet and listen to whatever Jax had to say.
“Three months before your father’s death, his food had consistently been poisoned. It wasn’t meant to kill him, it was just to make him sick and keep him be-dridden. Somewhere along the line, his b©dy could no longer handle the poison… That led to the heart failure that eventually killed him. So I am responsible for the death of Rev Johnson, your father.
The broken chair Juliet sat on at church was also my doing. But she was lucky. The intention was to paralyze her but God’s hand apparently was on her.
Ben, I am a criminal. I was paid to do this, but my conscience now wages war against me. You are a good person and I love you. ” Jax said.
Ben was speechless. This was unbelievable. He wanted to ask so many questions but he was too stunned by the revelation to speak.
“Look behind you” Jax continued.
Ben turned and saw two gentlemen sitting right behind them.
“They are policemen. I brou-ght them here to arrest me after talking to you. They are waiting for me, Ben” Jax said as tears began running down her cheeks.
Ben didn’t know what to do. He just sat down there and tried to process everything he had heard.
“I’m sorry Ben. Forgive me for all these. I love you” She cried and called out to the officers
“Officers, I’m done ” Jax said.
They immediately c@m£ over, handcuffed her and led her away. As they exited Eddy’s, Ben ran towards them.
“Officer! wait, wait” he said.
“Jax, who was paying you to do this? Ben asked.
“Is that not clear enough? I’ve done my p@rt. It’s now up to you but make sure you un-derstand the reason for all these before you act. “Jax said as they led her away.
Suddenly, everything bec@m£ clear. This revelation actually justified that conversation he heard between Jax and his foster mother.
It was very obvious who was behind this.
He wondered how he was going to deal with the situation… Should he confront her directly or find some other means?
Juliet was at home when she received a call from a number she didn’t recognise. It was a guy’s voice.
ON PHONE
Juliet: “Hello”
Caller: “Hello Juliet, meet me at The Paradise House number 52 within the next hour. There is something I nee-d to let you know”.
Juliet: “Daniel, is that you?
The caller didn’t answer her. He hung up. She tried calling back but the phone was not reachable.
Juliet for some reason didn’t feel right about this meeting. She tried calling Ben but his phone too was off. She texted him and gave details of where she was going.
Juliet left the house in a hurry, so she could get there on time. She knew that if the caller was really Daniel, then she would nee-d to be on time. Daniel never joked with his time. He was always punctual.
Juliet arrived the meeting place and discovered that houses in the area were very few. After several minutes of trying to locate the p@rticular house, she found it in a secluded portion. The surrounding of the house looked unkempt and bushy.
It immediately occurred to her that Daniel would never opt for a meeting place like this. She quic-kly tried calling Ben again but his phone was still not reachable. She then s£nt him another text.
Just as she finished s£nding, a young man gr@bb£d her by the hand and said
“Follow me”.
Something wasn’t right about this. It looked like a kidnap. The young man took her inside the unkempt house and to her surprise Alice was there seated on a chair, waiting for them.
Alice was still not aware that James, her b©yfri£nd, was in police custody. She thought James had outsmarted her. The only revenge she could think of was to eliminate the one she as-sumed was between them, Juliet.
“Tie her up against that Chair” Alice instructed the guy who had brou-ght her in.
The young man tried doing as he had been instructed but Juliet was fas-ter. She attem-pted to free herself from the guy’s grasp. He, however, quic-kly gathered himself and ti-ght£ñed his grip. He then landed a heavy sl@p on Juliet’s face.
The sl@p made her weak to her knees and made it easy for the man to tie her to the chair.
Alice stood up, took a syringe from her pocket and injected herself right in front of Juliet. She drew some of her own blood.
“James thinks he can infect me with HIV and get away with it. I don’t nee-d you for anything. I know James has his eyes on you and that is why he is not giving me attention. I am going to inject you with my blood and get you infected as well. This is just the beginning Juliet. You evil girl!” Alice said.
She c@m£ closer to Juliet so she could inject her with the infected blood.
“No, no plea-se. I have nothing to do with James. plea-se” Juliet cried and begged Alice.
As Alice inched closer, Juliet just closed her eyes, bent her head and begun praying silently. She knew that the God who healed her at the hospital didn’t heal her for nothing. She knew that she wasn’t healed of paralysis to get HIV.
Before Alice could inject her blood into Juliet’s system, policemen c@m£ rushing in. They pounced on Alice and her accomplice. The syringe was taken from her and she was handcuffed.
Ben was the one behind the rescue. He quic-kly rushed to Juliet’s side and untied her. Juliet embr@ced him as soon as she was untied. She felt very relieved and grateful… That was one close call!
Back at the house, Mrs. Johnson had a visitor from the church. He c@m£ to deliver a letter summoning her to come before the board within the next hour.
She laughed out really ha-rd upon seeing the letter. She had actually been expecting it.
She got dressed and went with the mess£nger to the church where the board had convened.
She arrived and saw all the board members seated behind a big round table, waiting for her.
Mrs. Johnson was not the least bit nervous. It was obvious that she had really prepared for the meeting.
The chairman of the board welcomed her and immediately commenced with the purpose of the meeting.
“Mrs. Johnson, upon reviewing the church’s financial statements, we notice that there are several withdrawals which are unaccounted for. Those withdrawals were made by you. Can you explain the withdrawals and give the board the details of your expenditure?” said the chairman.
Mrs. Johnson stood up but before she could open her mouth to talk, a team of policemen led by Jax arrived on the scene
Watch out for the next Episode